Switch-throwing device.



U. S. MOPPITT.

SWITCH THROWING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 13. 1913.

1, 1 1 1,31 3, Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

l l I I I n u j I 1 1 l l l I6 3 a I gvwvmroz, ZL 5.: IVOffIJZZ witnesses THE NORRIS PETERS C0.. PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, D. (:4

U. S. MOFPITT.

SWITCH THROWING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED D4EO.13, 191s.

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Z] mum 1101' witweooco THE NORRIS PETERS CCL. PHDTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D4 04 To all whom it may concern 1 i .Be it known that I, ULYssEsS.

x, declarethe followingito be avfull', clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as ..will1enable others skilled inthe art to which p'pert n t I nakeand use "the-same: a

"This .invention comprehends improve' ments; in switch throwing devices and relates'm'ore particularly'to those of the type which are adapted to be carried by tro'lley cars and manually operated toopen or close a switch.

One of theob jectsofj invention is toprovide a, switch throwing device which easy to operate and very reliable. I

shall be of extremely,simple construction,

Another object of the inventlon'isto provide a switch' throwing device includin a.

pair of wedge shaped shift blocks rigidly secured to rotatable andlongitudinally mov- 'able shafts, said shafts being rotated from a" main shaft-and being shifted longitudinally by means of foot actuated levers. I

With theseandfother objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds,;the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combi* nation and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described H and claimed. a

For a completeunderstanding of my invention', reference isto be had to the'follow ing description iand accompanylng drawings,in which i a t Flgure 1 1s a fragmentary S1616 elevation [partly insection, showing one end of ,a' car and my switch throwing mechanism securedthereto, the mechanism being shown partly in elevation and partly in sectlon.

Fig.2 is a horizontal section taken on the plane of line 22 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken onthe plane'of line 33 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4: is a view. ofa portion i I Referringin detail to the drawings by numerals, 5. designates as an entirety a porx tion of a car having. applatform 6 and a' ofa track showinghow the shift blocks are positioned relativ e to the switch.

dashboard 7. A rectangular frame 8 ist serails 18.

*nnvssns s. MOFFITT, or 'rosljanennns, CALIFORNIA.

Wm swnren rnnowfne nnvion.

- Patented sptlza, 1914..

Application filed December $erjia1 No.; 80 6,5( )5.

cured time bottom "of'the car, under the platform 6 and serves as'a bearing for the j'yert calshafts 9,. and. 10. These shafts proect nto openlngs 11 formed in the'platform 6, and carryupontheir lower endsbelow the lower frame bar; shift blocks .12. These blocks are preferably made :wedge shape which the shafts l9 and 10 project. Set screws-l5 removably secure these shift blocks to -the shafts. 1A sprocketwheel .16 is rig-- idly securedto each of the shafts within the frame and is engaged on its underside by the expansive coil spring 17. These springs encircle the shafts 9 and 10 andbear at their lower-ends against-the. lower bar o f;the frame 8 and serve to hold saidshafts norfmally in their elevated positions. at which timesthe shift blocks are above-the track A main operating shaft 19 is journaled through the platform 6 adjacent the dashboard 7 and through a bracket 20 secured to said dashboard. The shaft extends below the platform and has rigidly secured to its lower end a sprocket wheel 21 around which a sprocket chain22 runs, said chain also passing around the sprockets 16 on the shafts 9 and 10. The shaft 19 maybe rotated by means of a handle 23. This handle carries a catch 24 for engagement with a toothed quadrant 25 whereby the shaft may be locked against movement. I

To provide forindividually moving the shafts 9 and 10 downwardly so as to bring the shift blocks12 into operative position, I provide 1. pair of levers 26. These levers are pivoted'at their inner ends to brackets 27 carried by the undersideof the car and are connected at their forward ends to push rods 28. The levers are normally disposed in a horizontal plane, converge toward one another as they approach their outer ends and are positioned above the sprocket chain 22. Each of the levers is formed with longitudinal slots 29 through which the rods 9 and 10 extend. VVhena car is approachinga switch, as indicatedinFigA andit is desired to shift the switch rails 30 and 31 so that the car will continue in a straight 105 oneof the shift blocks will be brought'into having converging side faces l3 and are also formed .with longitudinal bores 14 into engagement with the rail 30. The outer in clined' face 13 of this shift block will tend to shift the switch rails 30 and 31 laterally 1 by engaging the point of the switch rail 30 and this action may he assisted by rotat ing the shaft 19 so as to swing the pointfof the depressed shift block outwardly. Should a car he approachingthe switch from the other direction the shift b1ock onthe right hand side of the care is 'de-' pressed so as to engage the outer face of Y the rail 31 thus closing the switch and allow.-

F operated. 1

ing the car to continue in a straight line.

From the foregoing description takeninT connection wlth the accompanying drawings, it will be evident that I have provided a very simple and practicalswitchthrowing mechanism which {may be very easily lVhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it

will be understood that minor changes in construction, combinatlon and arrangement of parts -may be made without departing from the scope and spiritof the invention as claimed. v 1

'Gopies'of-this patent may be obtained for five cents I each, 7 by addressing Washington, I). G.

.Having thus described fmy"invention, I cla1m: 1

The combination withia'cariof a throwd 30 f shafts mounted forlongitudinal and "rota- I v ing" device comprisingal pair' of. vertical tional movement, a shift block secured to the lower end ofeach shaft, a pair of horizontal levers pivoted at one end and formed "intermediate their {ends with openings throughwh ch the shafts extend, meansvfor forcing the free ends of said levers downofthe shafts and engaging the underside of thewilevers, Ina1n-vert1cal shaft, a

7 Wardly, a sprocket wheel secured to "eachsprocket wheel secured to said shaft a sprocket 1 chain connectingsaid sprocket wheels, spring means for holding the first shaft. 1

, mentioned shaftsnormally-in their elevated positions, and'JmeansfOr. rotating thefma n the Commissioner of'iPatents, 

